BACKGROUND: Fragility fractures are fractures that result from mechanical forces that would not ordinarily result in fracture. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the clinical effectiveness and safety of bisphosphonates [alendronic acid (Fosamax(®) and Fosamax(®) Once Weekly, Merck Sharp & Dohme Ltd), risedronic acid (Actonel(®) and Actonel Once a Week(®), Warner Chilcott UK Ltd), ibandronic acid (Bonviva(®), Roche Products Ltd) and zoledronic acid (Aclasta(®), Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK Ltd)] for the prevention of fragility fracture and to assess their cost-effectiveness at varying levels of fracture risk...

BACKGROUND: There is currently no standard practice for the monitoring of patients receiving treatment for osteoporosis. Repeated dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is commonly used for monitoring treatment response, but it has its limitations. Bone turnover markers have advantages over DXA as they are non-invasive, relatively cheap and can detect changes in bone turnover rates earlier. However, they do have disadvantages, particularly high within- and between-patient variability...

BACKGROUND: The manufacturers of oral bisphosphonates (alendronate, risedronate) recommend avoiding use of these drugs in patients with renal impairment. However, many patients who have osteoporosis or who are at risk of fracture are elderly and may have renal impairment. This situation poses a quandary for clinicians in deciding how best to manage osteoporosis in this high-risk population. OBJECTIVE: To synthesize published evidence regarding the use and safety of oral bisphosphonates for patients with impaired renal function...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro disintegration of the five newly available Canadian generic risedronate 35 mg tablets compared to the innovator (branded) product, ACTONEL * *ACTONEL is a registered trade name of Warner Chilcott Company, LLC. (risedronate sodium) 35 mg. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Tablets were inspected for colour and appearance. Disintegration times were determined using United States Pharmacopeia 33 (USP33-NF 28) methods...

BACKGROUND: Although the effects of bisphosphonates in bone are known for postmenopausal women, it is not known if younger postmenopausal women have a similar response. Furthermore, it is not known if the effects of alendronate and risedronate differ in postmenopausal women in regard to age, specifically in women at or younger than the mean age of natural menopause. Our aim was to examine the effects of two oral bisphosphonates in postmenopausal women by age. METHODS: This was a post-hoc analysis of postmenopausal women <55 or > or =55 years old with low bone mineral density (BMD), randomized to once weekly alendronate 70 mg or risedronate 35 mg for 1 year with 1-year extensions in U...

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines osteopenia as a bone density between 1 and 2.5 standard deviation (SD) below the bone density of a normal young adult Iqbal 2000. Osteoporosis is defined as 2.5 SD or more below that reference point Iqbal 2000. Bisphosphonates are a group of medications used to treat osteoporosis, Padget's disease of bone, and osteopenia. We report a woman who developed profound muscle weakness and pain after one dose of Risedronate (Actonel).

INTRODUCTION: Reduction of ovarian estrogen secretion at menopause increases net bone resorption and leads to bone loss. Isoflavones have been reported to protect bone from estrogen deficiency, but their modest effects on bone resorption have been difficult to measure with traditional analytical methods. METHODS: In this randomized-order, crossover, blinded trial in 11 healthy postmenopausal women, we compared four commercial sources of isoflavones from soy cotyledon, soy germ, kudzu, and red clover and a positive control of oral 1 mg estradiol combined with 2...

The objective of this study was to compare the changes on bone mineral density, and the effects on persistence and adverse events in patients treated for postmenopausal osteoporosis with generic alendronate or with branded alendronate (Fosamax®) or branded risedronate (Actonel®) once weekly. In this retrospective patient chart analysis, we reviewed the 1-year observational treatment results for 186 women (ITT population) with postmenopausal osteoporosis. Patients from our outpatient department, who had started with once-weekly bisphosphonate therapy between 36 and at least 12 months before this chart review, were included in this comparative three-arm study according to their treatment: A, Generic Alendonate 70 mg products; B, Branded Alendronate (Fosamax®) 70 mg once weekly and C, Branded Risedronate (Actonel®) 35 mg once weekly...

Bisphosphonates, a gold standard in therapeutic options for the management of osteoporosis, inhibit bone resorption with relatively few side effects. As a result, they are widely used for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. There are clear biochemical and pharmacological differences among bisfosfonates group. Risedronate has moderate mineral binding and has a higher inhibition of a key branch-point enzyme famesyl pyrophosphate synthase (FPPS) in the mevalonate pathway. Risedronate (Actonel) prevents vertebral and nonvertebral fractures as early as at 6 months of treatment...

SUMMARY: DXA-based hip structural analysis from 947 individuals completing two large osteoporosis clinical trials was pooled and analyzed. Treatment with once-weekly (OW) ALN or OW RIS resulted in significant improvements from baseline in geometric parameters at all three HSA ROIs. Improvements were generally greater with OW ALN than OW RIS. INTRODUCTION: BMD can be altered by changes in distribution and quantity of bone and changes in mineralization. These effects cannot be distinguished with conventional measurements of BMD...

The elderly population represent the fastest growing age-group and the incidence of osteoporotic related fractures is likely to increase with continued ageing of the population. This study determined the prescribing patterns on the Health Services Executive's (HSE) Primary Care Reimbursement Services Scheme (HSE-PCRS) of medicines dispensed for the prophylaxis and treatment of osteoporosis in Ireland. The HSE - PCRS prescription databases were analysed for the years 2004/2005. Approximately 65% of patients (total 60,000) were dispensed either Alendronate (Fosamax once weekly) or Risedronate (Actonel once weekly)...

Risedronate (Actonel 35 mg), which was promoted in Croatia a few months ago, is the latest (III) generation of bisphosphonates, the most efficient anti-resorption drugs that inhibit osteoclast-mediated bone resorption and change the bone metabolism. The effect of risedronate is 10 times stronger than that of alendronate, and 10.000 times stronger than that of etidronate. The bone turnover is reduced while the osteoblast activity and bone mineralisation are preserved. Decreases in biochemical markers of bone turnover were observed as soon as within 1 month and reached a maximum in 3-6 months of Actonel 35 mg application once a week or 5 mg a day...

CONTEXT: Persistence with osteoporosis treatment is poor but is important for maximum benefit. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to assess the impact of physician reinforcement using bone turnover markers (BTMs) on persistence with risedronate treatment. DESIGN AND SETTING: This was a 1-yr multinational prospective, open-label, blinded study in 171 osteoporosis centers in 21 countries. PATIENTS: A total of 2382 postmenopausal women (65-80 yr old) with spine/hip T-score -2...

BACKGROUND: The objective of the study was to evaluate the effects of alendronic acid once weekly relative to risedronic acid once weekly on bone mineral density (BMD), markers of bone turnover and tolerability in the treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. METHODS: This was a randomised, double-masked, double-dummy multicentre international study (75 centres in 27 countries in Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific). A total of 1303 women were screened and 936 with low bone density (T-score < or = -2...